Deployable support device for flexible panels

ABSTRACT

The device comprises a folding structure ( 3, 7, 20 ) involving a set of bars ( 7 ) which are articulated to one another by nodes ( 3, 20 ), and elongate support elements capable of being fixed to roughly vertical rows of receiving nodes ( 3 ) to receive the parallel edges ( 24 ) of the flexible panels ( 1 ).  
     According to the invention, said elongate support elements are formed of flat flexible strips ( 9 ) which are applied by magnetic attraction to the nodes ( 3 ) by one of their main faces.

[0001] The invention relates to a support device for flexible panels, comprising a folding structure involving a set of bars which are articulated to one another by nodes, each end of a bar being connected by a node to an end of at least one other bar so that the structure can adopt a folded configuration of small bulk and a self-supporting deployed configuration defining a receiving face having at least two roughly vertical rows of receiving nodes each containing at least two nodes, the device further comprising elongate support elements capable of being fixed to the receiving nodes so as each to run from the top node to the bottom node of one of said rows, it being possible for two elongate support elements associated with two adjacent rows to receive the respective two parallel edges of a flexible panel.

[0002] Such devices are used in particular for installing picture or textile walls formed of vertical widths or flexible panels placed side by side so as to constitute a continuous entity.

[0003] A device of this kind is described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,560. In that known device, the elongate support elements consist of rigid bars which are fixed to the nodes by mechanical means. These bars have an appreciable impact on the weight, the cost and the complexity of installing the device.

[0004] The object of the invention is to overcome these drawbacks.

[0005] The invention is aimed in particular at a device of the kind defined in the introduction, and envisages that said elongate support elements are formed by flexible flat strips which are applied to the nodes by one of their main faces.

[0006] Optional complementary or substitute characteristics of the invention are listed below:

[0007] Each elongate support element is formed of a single flexible strip, the ends of which are fixed respectively to the top node and to the bottom node of the row.

[0008] The receiving nodes have means of laterally immobilizing the flexible strips collaborating with the longitudinal edges thereof.

[0009] Said lateral immobilizing means consist of the lateral edges of grooves formed in the receiving nodes and in which the flexible strips are engaged with a small amount of lateral clearance.

[0010] Each flexible strip has means of longitudinal immobilization acting in concert with at least one of the nodes with which it is in contact.

[0011] Said longitudinal immobilizing means comprise studs which engage in recesses of the nodes.

[0012] The flexible strips are made of a magnetic material and each receiving node comprises a magnetized insert capable of applying the associated strip to the node.

[0013] The flexible strips, on their opposite face to the one which is applied to the nodes, have means for mechanically attaching flexible panels.

[0014] The flexible strips, on their opposite side to the one which is applied to the nodes, have magnetized layers capable of collaborating with layers of magnetic material secured to the flexible panels along said parallel edges so as to keep these applied to the flexible strips.

[0015] Each of said magnetized layers has magnetic poles of opposite signs, situated respectively on the left-hand and right-hand halves of the width of the strip so as to collaborate with magnetic poles of opposite signs situated respectively on the layers of magnetic material of the right-hand edge of a flexible panel and of the left-hand edge of another flexible panel, so that these edges can be positioned precisely on said halves.

[0016] The device further comprises at least one cylindrical storage box capable of containing, in coiled form, at least one flexible strip of a length that exceeds the diameter of the box, the latter comprising two opposed end walls, at least one of which has an opening to allow the strip to be introduced via one of its ends so that it can be coiled.

[0017] The characteristics and advantages of the invention will be explained in greater detail in the description below, with reference to the appended drawings.

[0018]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a device according to the invention, in the deployed position, equipped with flexible panels which are depicted with partial cutaway.

[0019]FIG. 2 is a partial view of the face of the folding structure of the device of FIG. 1, showing a receiving node and the ends of the bars articulated to it.

[0020]FIG. 3 is a view in section on III-III of FIG. 2.

[0021]FIG. 4 is a partial view of a face of a flexible strip of the device of FIG. 1, showing the top and bottom ends thereof.

[0022]FIG. 5a is a view in section on V-V of FIG. 4. FIG. 5b is a view similar to FIG. 5a, illustrating an alternative form.

[0023]FIG. 6 depicts a flexible strip coiled in a cylindrical storage box.

[0024]FIG. 7 is a partial and exploded perspective view of a device according to the invention, showing a vertical row of receiving nodes, a flexible strip that fixes to these nodes and an edge of a flexible panel that fixes to the flexible strip.

[0025]FIG. 1 shows a series of rectangular flexible panels 1 juxtaposed with one another edge to edge along roughly vertical join lines 2, to form a roughly continuous display surface. The edges of panels juxtaposed along each line 2 rest against an elongate support element 9 itself fixed to a vertical row of receiving nodes 3 (here hidden by the element 9). Connecting bars 7 connect the nodes 3 to other nodes 20 situated further back than the former nodes, each bar 7 being articulated by its two ends to a receiving node 3 and to a rear node 20, respectively.

[0026]FIGS. 2 and 3 show, in detail, the configuration of a node 3 and its collaboration with the connecting bars 7. As can be seen in FIG. 3, the node 3 is formed of several parts joined together by bolting, these including a part 4 of prismatic overall shape with an octagonal base. As an alternative, the nodes can be made in a single piece. Each bar 7 is formed of a metal tube equipped with an end piece 21 articulated to the node 3 in such a way as to pivot about an axis. In the known way, eight bars 7 are thus articulated to the node 3 so that their axes move, two by two, in four planes passing through the axis A of the part 4 and parallel respectively to the faces of the prismatic surface thereof. Formed on the face of the part 4 which faces the front, that is to say faces toward the panels 1, is a groove 22 oriented from top to bottom, that is to say in the longitudinal direction of the elongate elements 9, leaving, on each side of the groove, narrow rims 8 which serve to guide the elongate elements laterally. Three circular recesses are also formed in the part 4 from the bottom of the groove 22, and these are an axial recess 23 centered on the axis A and two recesses 6 situated below this axis, symmetrically on each side of the vertical mid-plane P of the node. A magnetized pad 5 is housed in the recess 23 so that it lies flush with the bottom of the groove 22. It may be fitted in particular by screwing, bonding or force-fitting.

[0027] Each elongate element is essentially formed of a flexible strip 9 of a magnetic metal tape, for example made of steel. When the device according to the invention is erected, the strip 9 is engaged with a small amount of lateral clearance in the grooves 22 of the nodes 3, the rims 8 facing the lateral edges of the strip to ensure precise lateral positioning thereof. The strip 9 is equipped, on its face facing toward the nodes 3, with two studs 10 situated near its top end, and intended to engage in the recesses 6 in the top node of the row, and with two studs 10 similar to the previous two, situated near its bottom end, and intended to engage in the recesses 6 in the bottom node of the row. The collaboration between the studs 10 and the recesses 6 ensures longitudinal positioning of the strip, the latter moreover being applied to the bottom of the grooves 22 by the magnetic attraction exerted by the pads 5.

[0028] According to some alternative forms of the invention, the bottom studs 10 may be omitted, or, on the contrary, additional studs may be provided to engage in the recesses 6 of the intermediate nodes 3.

[0029]FIGS. 5a, 5 b and 7 also show two studs 11 projecting from the front face of the strip, that is to say in the opposite direction to the studs 10, on each side of the longitudinal mid-line 2 of the strip. As can be seen in FIGS. 5a and 5 b, a stud 10 and a stud 11 are advantageously formed of two parts joined together through a hole in the strip 9, for example by screwing, welding, riveting or force-fitting.

[0030] As FIG. 7 shows, the studs 11 are used to attach the panels 1, each of them fitting into a notch 17 formed, from a lateral edge 24 of a panel, in a hanger 16 provided on the top edge of this panel. The two lateral edges of each panel thus hook respectively over the right-hand stud 11 of one strip 9 and over the left-hand stud 11 of the adjacent strip. As an alternative, studs, hangers and notches similar to the studs 11, the hangers 16 and the notches 17 may additionally be provided at the bottom of the strips and of the panels.

[0031]FIGS. 5b and 7 show a magnetized layer 12 covering the front face of the strip 9, over most of its length, under the top studs 10, 11 and above the bottom studs 10. This layer is optional and is not provided in the alternative form that is shown in FIG. 5a. It is intended to collaborate with layers of magnetic material 15 covering the marginal regions of the panels 1, along the lateral edges 24 thereof, so as to apply these marginal regions uniformly to the strip 9. For this purpose, the layer 12 advantageously has magnetic poles of opposite signs on each side of the mid-line 2, each layer 15 having one or more magnetic poles of the opposite sign to that of the magnetic pole or poles of the corresponding half of the layer 12. Thus, the panels 11 automatically position themselves contiguously, facing lateral edges of two adjacent panels coinciding with the mid-line 2 of the strip 9.

[0032]FIG. 6 diagrammatically shows a cylindrical storage box 13 in which a coiled flexible strip 9 is housed. An end wall 14 of the box 13 has a central circular opening 25 that allows the strip to be introduced via one of its ends so that it can be coiled inside the box.

[0033] When the magnetized layer 12 is absent, the magnetized layers 15 of the panels simply hold the edges of the panels firmly against the flexible strip, the edges 24 being positioned by hand so that they coincide. In any case, the layers 12 and 15 may be held in place by bonding. 

1. Support device for flexible panels, comprising a folding structure (3, 7, 20) involving a set of bars (7) which are articulated to one another by nodes (3, 20), each end of a bar being connected by a node to an end of at least one other bar so that the structure can adopt a folded configuration of small bulk and a self-supporting deployed configuration defining a receiving face having at least two roughly vertical rows of receiving nodes (3) each containing at least two nodes, the device further comprising elongate support elements capable of being fixed to the receiving nodes so as each to run from the top node to the bottom node of one of said rows, it being possible for two elongate support elements associated with two adjacent rows to receive the respective two parallel edges (24) of a flexible panel (1), characterized in that said elongate support elements are formed by flexible flat strips (9) which are applied to the nodes (3) by one of their main faces.
 2. Device according to claim 1, in which each elongate support element is formed of a single flexible strip (9), the ends of which are fixed respectively to the top node and to the bottom node of the row.
 3. Device according to one of claims 1 and 2, in which the receiving nodes have means (8, 22) of laterally immobilizing the flexible strips collaborating with the longitudinal edges thereof.
 4. Device according to claim 3, in which said lateral immobilizing means consist of the lateral edges (8) of grooves (22) formed in the receiving nodes and in which the flexible strips are engaged with a small amount of lateral clearance.
 5. Device according to one of the preceding claims, in which each flexible strip has means (10) of longitudinal immobilization acting in concert with at least one of the nodes with which it is in contact.
 6. Device according to claim 5, in which said longitudinal immobilizing means comprise studs (10) which engage in recesses (6) of the nodes.
 7. Device according to one of the preceding claims, in which the flexible strips are made of a magnetic material and each receiving node comprises a magnetized insert (5) capable of applying the associated strip to the node.
 8. Device according to one of the preceding claims, in which the flexible strips, on their opposite face to the one which is applied to the nodes, have means (11) for mechanically attaching flexible panels.
 9. Device according to one of the preceding claims, in which the flexible strips, on their opposite side to the one which is applied to the nodes, have magnetized layers (12) capable of collaborating with layers (15) of magnetic material secured to the flexible panels along said parallel edges (24) so as to keep these applied to the flexible strips.
 10. Device according to claim 9, in which each of said magnetized layers (12) has magnetic poles of opposite signs, situated respectively on the left-hand and right-hand halves of the width of the strip so as to collaborate with magnetic poles of opposite signs situated respectively on the layers of magnetic material of the right-hand edge of a flexible panel and of the left-hand edge of another flexible panel, so that these edges can be positioned precisely on said halves.
 11. Device according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising at least one cylindrical storage box (13) capable of containing, in coiled form, at least one flexible strip (9) of a length that exceeds the diameter of the box, the latter comprising two opposed end walls, at least one (14) of which has an opening (25) to allow the strip to be introduced via one of its ends so that it can be coiled. 